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Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing Insider
Virgil Ortiz and Serhiy Bohachuk are finalizing the contract for a junior middleweight bout on Aug. 10 in Las Vegas, sources told ESPN on Monday.
Ortiz (21-0, 21 KOs) was scheduled to fight former champion Tim Tszyu on the undercard of the Terence Crawford-Israel Madrimov fight on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles, but the Australian withdrew last month due to injury.
Ortiz will compete in the main event of a Golden Boy Promotions DAZN card in a week's time. The bout will mark Ortiz's third fight of the year. In January, he ended a 17-month hiatus due to rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which damaged muscle tissue releases proteins and electrolytes into the blood.
Ortiz's return fights, both of which were stopped in the first round, include wins over Frederick Lawson and Thomas Duhomme. A matchup with Bohachuk would significantly raise Ortiz's level of competition. The 26-year-old Texas native is ranked No. 4 by ESPN among 154-pound boxers, while Bohachuk is ranked No. 6.
The 29-year-old Ukrainian native is fresh off the best performance of his career with a big decision win over Brian Mendoza in March. The 29-year-old Bohachuk suffered his only professional defeat in March 2021, via eighth-round TKO to Brandon Adams.
